martin



No. 618,250. Patented Jan. 2 I89 H. K. MARTIN.

FIRE HOSE SUPPORT.

(Application filed. Au 5, 1898.)

(Ho Model.)

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"UNTTE STATES union,

PATENT FIRE-HOSE SUPPORT;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,250, dated January24, 1899.

Application filed August 5, 1898.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known thatI, HARRY KINGDOM MAR- TIN, of the city of Montreal,Province of Que-' bec, Canada, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fire-Hose Supports; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention has for its object to provide means for supporting orbridging fire-hose over a roadway, and more particularly over electricstreet-railway lines; and it may be said, briefly, to consist of a pairof tripods arranged one on each side of the roadway, and when anelectric railway is to be bridged I use an insulated hanging bracketadapted to be suspended from the trolley-wire and support the portion ofthe hose between the tripods. These tripods each consist of a U-shapedtray'having its upper side and the inner surface of the sides coveredwithinsulatin g material, the under side of said trayhaving the upperends of, preferably, three tubular sections pivotally connected theretoand adapted to each receive a tubular section of less diameter, but ofgreater length, and said lastmentioned tubular sections receivingadjustable spiked heads, while the inclosed tubular sections areprovided with spring-catches adapted to serve the double purpose ofretaining the tubular sections in their extended state and preventingthe inner section being drawn completely out of the outer tubularsection.

For full comprehension, however, of .my invention reference must be hadto the accompanyin g drawings, forming a part of this specification, inwhich like symbols indicate the the same parts, and wherein Figure l isa perspective View of my improved fire-hose-supporting apparatus in use;Fig. 2, a detail view of one of the tripods; Fig. 3, a detail transversevertical sectional view of one of the tripod-trays; Fig. 4:, an enlargedlongitudinal sectional view of my improved means for connecting thetubular sections together when in an extended state, and Fig. 5 is adetail perspective view of the hanging bracket.

The hanging bracket is constructed of steel or other rigid materialandis of U shape,with its ends in the form of hooks 8, having theirbases downwardly inclined, as at 9, to pre- Serial No. 687,860. (Nomodel.)

sent shoulders 10, while its hose-supporting portion is flattenedhorizontally, as at 11, the whole being inclosed in rubber piping 12.

The trays 13 of the tripods consist of abottom 14 and two sides 15, allof which arelined with rubber 16 or other insulating material, while theunder sides thereof have three pairs of lugs 17 formed thereon, to whichare pivotally connected the upper ends of three tubular sections 18,having the interior of their free ends chamfered to form shoulders 20.Tubular sections 21 take into said tubular sections 18, and within eachand near the upper end thereof is located a novel form of spring-catch,the lower end thereof carrying a set-screw 22 and receivinga spike 23,having a series of sockets, into one of which the end of said set-screwtakes, according to the distance it may be required that the spikeproject out of the tube, thereby enabling the legs of the tripod to belengthened or shortened to accommodate inequalities of the surface ofthe ground. The spring-catch consists of a preferably cylindricalcarrying-block 25, havingits upper end transversely slotted, as at 26,to enable the lower ends of a pair of fingers 27 to be pivotallyconnected thereto. The upper ends of these fingers are formed withbeveled lateral projections 28 and thumbpieces 29,each of which projectsthrough openings cut in opposite sides of the upper ends of the innertubular sections 21, the beveled projections 28 being adapted when thetelescopic legs (formed by said tubular sections) are extended to theirfull length to take over the shoulder 20. The thumb-pieces 29 supportthe lower ends of said tubes 18 and at the same time provide means toenable the catch to be disengaged from the shoulders 20, said fingersbeing normally yieldingly held apart by a bow-spring 30, held in placeby a staple 31, secured on the top of the carryingblock,

It is expedient to have the trolley-wire support the least possibleWeight, and therefore it is desirable to have as short a length of hoseas possible between the tripods, thus necessitating the placing of thetripods as near the rails as is practicable without running the risk ofbeing struck by passing cars. In order to readily determine thedistance, I secure a length 40 of cord, wire, or the like to one of j II Ml the tripod-legs adapted to be located closest to the rails, thislength of cord or the like being equal to the space required between thetripod and the rails.

, In order to support a fire-hose over an elec: tric street-railwayline, the hose should first be placed in the trays of the tripods, andthe tripods, with their telescopic legs extended to the full length,stood upright, one on each side of the track, the upper ends of saidlegs being formed to provide shoulders adapted to bear upon the underside of the tray to prevent their being spread too far apart. Thehanging bracket is then fitted over the portion of the hose between thetripod (which portion would otherwise sag) and hooked upon thetrolley-wire 30 the shoulders 10 preventing the accidental displacementof the bracket by a blow from a passing car or otherwise.

It is obvious that the cars can pass under the hose without obstructionif the trolleypole be drawn and held down while the car is passing, and,furthermore, the hanging bracket can be dispensed with and three or moreof my improved tripods utilized when it is required that an ordinarythoroughfare be bridged and kept open for traffic.

RVhat I claim is as follows:

1. A fire-hose support comprising an insu lated hanging bracket of Ushape and having its ends formed with hooks offset on opposite sides ofthe bracket, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A fire-hose support comprising a hanging bracket of U shape andhaving its ends formed with hooks, 8, having downwardly-inelined bases 9forming shoulders 10, the base of said bracket being flattened as at 11,and the whole inclosed in a rubber pipe 12.

3. A fire-hose support comprising a pair of tripods adapted to belocated one on each side of an electric-railway line, and an insulatedhanging bracket adapted to be suspended from the trolley-wire, for thepurpose set forth.

4. A tripod, for the purpose set forth, comprising an insulated tray,extensible legs pivotally secured to the under side of said tray andeach consisting of a pair of telescopicallyarranged tubular sections,the outer one be ing pivotally secured at its upper end to the tray andhaving the interior of its lower end .for adjusting said spike into andout of said tubular section, substantially as described.

5. A tripod, for the purpose set forth, comprising an insulated tray,extensible legs pivotally secured to the under side of said tray, aflexible measuring-cord carried by the lower end of one of said legs,and each leg consist ing of a pair of telescopically-arranged tubularsections, the outer one being pivotally secured at its upper end to thetray and having the interior of its lower end chamfered; a spring-catchcarried by the'upper end of the inner tubular section and adapted toengage the shoulder formed by said chamfering; a spike carried by thelower end of said inner tubular section; and means foradjusting saidspike into and out of said tubular section, substantially as described.

6. A fire-hose support comprising an insu= lated hanging bracket and apair of tripods each consisting of a tray 13 insulated as at- 16,tubular sections, 18, pivotally connected to the under side of said trayand formed on the interior their lower ends with shoulders 20, tubularsections 21 telescoping into said first-mentioned tubular sections aspring catch carried by the upper end of said tubu= lar section, 21, andadapted to engage said shoulders 20; said catch consisting of acarrying-block 25, a pair of fingers 27 formed with beveled projections28 and thumb-pieces 29 and a bow-spring 30, a spike 23 and setscrew 22,all arranged substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

HARRY K. MARTIN.

IVitnesses:

WILLIAM P. McFEAT, ARTHUR T. BAKER.

